Smurthwaite, Jane C.

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Born: October 3, 1929 Died: October 10, 2021

Jane passed away suddenly October 10, 2021.  She was predeceased by husband, Richard J. Smurthwaite.  She is survived by her daughter, Ellen Smurthwaite, and by her sisters, Ellen Bartoo and Barbara Stickney.

Jane was born in North Collins, New York on October 3, 1929 to Ruth and Ivan Congdon.

She graduated from University of Buffalo with majors in both English and Math.  She met her future husband, Richard Smurthwaite, while attending UB.  He was one of her math assistant teachers!

Dick and Jane (yes, they really were Dick and Jane!!!) were married on May 3^rd, 1952 and soon moved to California for Dick’s job.  Jane took a job as a statistician for the missile testing at Point Mugu Air Station Base (utilizing her Math degree!).  After a few years, Dick’s job moved them back East to Lockport, New York, and eventually other locations, where Jane then became a stay at home mom and housewife.

Jane was an avid quilter and her beautiful handmade quilts were shared with friends and family.  She especially loved making baby quilts whenever the occasion arose.   Another handcraft Jane enjoyed was crocheting and knitting.  She especially enjoyed knitting socks!    Jane loved gardening – she could name any plant, plus give you the Latin name as well!  She loved working on jigsaw puzzles and had mastered many a 1000 piece puzzle.  She continued doing puzzles up until her death, although she had gone to 300 piece puzzles which fit onto the card table in her room!

Jane was a lifelong Yankees baseball fan.  She listened to the games on the radio with her father when she was young and continued to be a strong fan right up until the end of this season.  

Jane loved her cats and had several Siamese cats throughout her life: Pepper, Misty and HoThai.   She also had a grandcat, Reo (also Siamese!).  Jane was always happy with a kitty curled up in her lap.

Jane was a 30 plus year member of P.E.O., a philanthropic educational organization which raises monies for women’s education, “Women helping women reach for the stars”.  She was a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Penfield, New York.

Jane always loved the water, but unfortunately her husband did not.  And so there were not too many vacations spent by the water.  (Dick’s idea of a good vacation was finding the nearest bookstore and making sure it was air-conditioned if it was warm outside.)  When Dick died, Jane started to go to New Smyrna Beach, Florida in the winters where her sister and brother-in-law stayed for the winter.  She loved walking the beach looking for sand dollars and sitting up on the balcony watching the dolphins play in the ocean.  She and her daughter took Jane’s last trip to New Smyrna in February 2016.  Jane had said she never thought she’d see the ocean again and she enjoyed time just sitting on the balcony watching the ocean.

Jane was living at Maplewood Nursing Home in Webster, New York at the time of her death.

Jane’s family thanks the staff and volunteers at The Maplewood for making her last year so comfortable and enjoyable.  Jane loved all the activities at Maplewood, especially Bingo, Bowling and Chorus.

There will be no calling hours for Jane.  A Victory of Life celebration will be held Saturday, October 30, 2021 at 2pm ET at Faith Lutheran Church, 2576 Browncroft Blvd., Rochester.   

Friends and family are invited in person, while practicing social distancing and wearing masks.  

There will not be a reception after the service, but rather there will be a receiving line.

The service will also be Live-streamed on Faith’s website https://livestream.com/flcpenfield 

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in Jane’s memory to:

• Cornell Feline Health Center, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, 

235 Hungerford Rd., Ithaca, NY  14853-6401.  

(Checks payable to Cornell Feline Health Center or donate online at www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/  Click on Giving/Membership button.)

Or 

• Faith Lutheran Church, 2576 Browncroft Blvd., Rochester NY 14625

(Checks payable to Faith Lutheran Church or donate online at www.faithpenfield.org/giving 

Click on the Make a Donation button.)